


Secret of Life

by WonderWafles



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: AKA was supposed to be a Crimson Days fic but I left it too late, Gen, Kinda a Crimson Days fic, Neglected Vanguard Characters Are Free Real Estate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:28:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24418144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderWafles/pseuds/WonderWafles
Summary: Hunter patrols can produce startling finds.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Secret of Life

On Venus, the rains came and went like they were on the turn of a switch. The clouds would rise from the west and down it would come, just like that.

It covered the greenery with a silver sheen and made the roads - the real roads out in the wild, not the ones built in the cities and haunted by Vex - soft and easy to sink your foot into.

It made the world look new. Like Venus was meant to be rained on. Maybe it was.

It also provided the dubiously reliable benefit of scattering the Vex. They were not damaged by the rain, not as far as the Cryptarchs could tell, but sometimes during a storm they would retreat to do… something, and the way would be made a little easier.

The trouble was that, even if their Golden Age ancestors had found a way to control the storms, it was wholly inscrutable to the City. There was no way to predict when the rains would come next.

Unless, that is, you spent so much time on the planet that you had truly forgotten the calendar of the old world. At least, that's what Tallulah Fairwind liked to tell people.

She and Caliban-8 had been hunting a Fallen company for some time now. Intel suggested they had made off with a Golden Age thingamajig or whosawhatsit that the cryptarchs wanted found and were willing to pay good Glimmer for. 

Tallulah just wanted to get off of Earth for a bit. Jumpships weren’t cheap, but the City was willing to loan one to anyone who wanted to take the Cryptarch’s bounty. She couldn’t turn that down.

Next to her, nestled down with a firm adherence to scouting protocol, Caliban tapped his non-existent nose. No sign of them here. 

The House of Winter’s grip was strongest at the Ishtar Sink - out here, they still stood a good chance of finding the thieves on their own. Manageable enough for a couple of Hunters to pick off.

The Fallen might have moved on already, but they were close. Tallulah could tell. Wouldn’t be long now before she had them in her sights.

They moved as one out into the valley. The rain started to come down hard on them. A cluster of buildings up ahead suggested that the Fallen might be closer than they anticipated. Perhaps they were taking cover from the weather, too. If Tallulah knew Fallen, they were probably already fighting over the damn thing while they waited for the storm to pass.

Caliban had the same thought. They nodded towards each other and split up, each taking position at the opposite end of the building and peering into the window.

Any glimpse of the Fallen that might have been there was covered in darkness. Tallulah wasn’t surprised. The Fallen weren’t stupid enough to camp near the windows.

With a fluid motion, Caliban summited the roof. Tallulah nodded up at him, and then moved towards the door. 

As soon as her partner’s cloak disappeared over the roof, she kicked the door in.

A shank saw her just a nanosecond before her knife destroyed it and pinned its chassis to the wall. She pinged Caliban over the comms, knowing he’d know what it meant, and abandoned all caution.

The first three dregs met their ends as each wandered into the room. She hammered off a shot at the vandal that loomed behind them, and then lobbed a bomb at it.

A muffled shriek from behind them confirmed the presence of a Captain. It lumbered in, its shield flickering but not breaking, and launched itself at her with a roar.

Tallulah dodged neatly. This kind of combat is what she had hoped to avoid, but perhaps she should have guessed the Captain could bluff its way through her initial attack.

A shock knife embedded itself in the wall where her head used to be. She stabbed the Captain in the side and then dodged away, rolling behind a desk some ancient Ishtar scientist had probably pushed into the middle of the room and forgotten about.

The Captain roared, and rushed forward. Tallulah waited, another home-made bomb in hand, ready to blow herself to confetti if need be -

A blow from behind made the hulking Fallen stumble. Then another, and it shrieked. Its leg was kicked out from underneath it, and with a final stab, Caliban finished it off.

He grinned at her. She glowered. The kill was going to be hers.

Tallulah’s hurt pride could never endure long under Caliban’s happiness, though. Especially not when he held up their prize.

They both laughed at it. They couldn’t help themselves.

…

The far room was still filled with Servitor junk, but they cleared themselves a space near the window, where they could sit down and lean against the wall together.

She popped one of the earbuds in, letting Caliban do the same. She could hear the rain pounding on the roof outside. Here, curled up together, warm and dry, it was comforting.

The little device was filled with an impressive amount of files for its size. Tallulah got dizzy just scrolling through them. For that alone, that Golden Age technological excess, she could understand why the Cryptarchs wanted it.

But it would be a shame to pass it off without even using it, just once, for its intended purpose.

The first song played low and cool. It was a strange song, not like anything Tallulah had ever heard before. But she found that she liked it quite a bit.

She snuck a glance at her partner. He had closed his eyes, dancing slightly in his reclined position. She thought it was kind of adorable, and might have told him so if she thought he would ever forgive her for it.

At home, the City waited for them with plenty of Glimmer, effusive and measured praise from Saint and Osiris, respectively, and a good start to their next adventure. 

But she was happy, for now, to listen together for as long as they cared to.

**Author's Note:**

> As I said in the notes, this was intended to be a Crimson Days fic, but (just like the actual Crimson Days) doesn't need to be read as romance. You can if you want! Or not. I personally don't think Tallulah and Caliban care about the distinction in their case, anyway. <3
> 
> Oh, and yes, if you recognize the title, you recognize the first song that Tallulah and Caliban listen to!


End file.
